March 2018

When the organizers of the 25th annual Trash Bash cleanup day event say “Clean it like you mean it” they mean it.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, March 24, in Terry Hershey Park – one of several Trash Bash 2018 sites – volunteers can help make Buffalo Bayou shine like it should.

Consider last year, an event dampened by rain. More than 3,242 volunteers – more than half under the age of 18 – collected 52 tons of trash, 1.5 tons of recyclables and 574 illegally dumped tires throughout the Galveston Bay watershed. Over 24 years, volunteers at this scouting- and family-friendly cleanup have collected nearly 2,200 tons of trash, 16 tons of recycling and 10,709 tires.

Each year in spring, Trash Bash brings thousands of volunteers to Texas waterways to help clean up the state’s bayous, rivers and lakes. Trash Bash has contributed mightily to the success of the Keep Texas Waterways Clean campaign. In 2016, Trash Bash participants cleaned 28 percent of the total waterway miles and collected one quarter of all the trash.

“It’s a great opportunity for residents, students, and businesses to get hands-on experience about the effects of littering and learn about simple ways to reduce water pollution at home through interactive educational exhibits,” explains Lori Traweek, president of the Texas Conservation Fund, which manages Trash Bash with administrative support by the Houston-Galveston Area Council and a volunteer steering committee.

The idea behind Trash Bash is to promote environmental stewardship of the watershed through public education by utilizing hands-on educational tools and developing partnerships between environmental, governmental and private organizations.

Volunteers are provided with cleanup supplies, receive an official Trash Bash t-shirt, lunch after the cleanup and can win door prizes. A commemorative patch is available for scouts and collectors. In 2017, more than 800 volunteers were involved in scouting.

For more about Trash Bash 2018 and its Terry Hershey Park event, visit here. For more about Trash Bash, visit trashbash.org.